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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bank — for money
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cold — not warm
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. pop — soda
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. file — a line of people
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. pop — music
  17. sharp — clever
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. bank — for money
  22. pop — to visit
  23. squash — to crush
  24. bank — of a river

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com